Former Member

Although Michael kept saying he was uncomfortable with Seth & Liam’s PDAs, I was not at all surprised that he ended up with Marcos! ;–)

I’m thinking there might be a cultural aspect to this discussion. The Scandinavian countries have long been more progressive than the English-speaking world when it comes to women’s rights. My mother, a generation or two older than Felicity (born in 1925), rejected Feminist ideology and goals. But she was a lot more Feminist than she would have wanted to admit. Because she had no daughters, she trained her three sons to help out in the kitchen (including washing/drying dishes and even doing some basic cooking) so she wouldn’t get stuck doing everything in the kitchen by herself like some of her peers. She got a credit card in her own name in the Seventies (as opposed to the then-still-common Mrs John Doe format). And she got a driver’s license (which she used less than a decade before refusing to drive again). She didn’t want to be just Mrs John Doe. But she was ‘properly’ demure and quiet in public. My father was always aware of her feelings about things, but she didn’t inform him in public. She was extremely good at non-verbal communication! ;–) I think it helped that she socialized with many women who were a decade or two younger than she was. She spent a lot of time with our next-door neighbor who was more than a decade younger. And because of my cousins, she spent more time with her much younger, second youngest sister who she hadn’t been close to when they were growing up (the one who cooked brown rice and natural food, taught us how to do tie-dye, and decorated the inside of her house with 100 houseplants* – many suspended in intricate macramé hangings that she knotted). * Counted by their middle sister (my mother being the oldest of five daughters, no sons) who housesat one summer and was very annoyed at having to water so many plants! ;–)

GA is not perfect, but there is a lot more Gay content here than any place I’ve visited outside Nifty. And Nifty’s biggest problems are the extreme lack of editing/spellchecking/grammar-checking and frequently low quality of the content. Aside from email, there is also no way to interact with the author & other readers or react publicly to the content. It’s a case of sometimes too restrictive rules vs anarchy.

And you’ll notice she still blames herself for the abuse. She hasn’t realized that she’s not the problem. She might need to be injured severely enough to require hospitalization before she’s willing to leave her abuser. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but something he does has to shock her into action before she’ll leave him..

Well, I hadn’t seen them in California before 1990 when I visited British Columbia in the other CA.. ;–) There was an article in Sunset Magazine (a Bay Area-based, Western US lifestyle magazine that features articles on cooking, gardening, and some local travel) that discussed how to create a pleasing basket. And Berkeley has some in their downtown area. There are some things you can do to minimize the waste of water – using less thirsty, drought-tolerant plants and adding those gels that absorb moisture would help. ;–)

When I was homeless, I wasn’t treated as poorly as most of the others I stayed with in shelters. Their clothing was obviously worn, and sometimes visibly tattered and torn. My clothing looked new (even when it was a decade old or older) and clean. Few outside the shelters perceived me as being homeless unless I told them and even then they were very surprised because I didn’t fit the stereotype. ;–) While getting some new, cheap pieces of clothing will help tremendously, buying moderately priced items that are designed better with serve longer. Besides, disposable clothing (such as H&M) is environmentally unfriendly and wasteful. On the other hand, designer brands are too extravagant and unnecessary. I didn’t really appreciate the handmade shirts and sweaters that my mother made for me when I was a child. But I still have a longer than normal, hand-knitted scarf that she made for me – it’s not as long as the Fourth Doctor’s, but that was the inspiration for the length. It’s solid off-white in color. ;–)

It’s fortunate for Felicity that not only do Andy & Adam care about her well-being, but they also have room and resources to help her when she’s ready to escape her abuser. In many cases, abused spouses and partners are intentionally cut off from friends and family by their abusers and do not feel like they can approach them for assistance. Battered women often do not have the financial resources to leave. Battered men are seen as less masculine because they were unable to fight back or defend otherwise themselves. As with most other social services, there aren’t enough resources to help everyone who needs assistance. And many who escape have children who need to be helped as well. Some arrive at shelters with only the clothes on their backs. I’m certain that they all need mental health counseling to deal with the trauma they’ve suffered, often for years. The abuser, if he (or she) is caught and punished becomes a drain on society and usually cannot compensate the victims monetarily. The rest of us have to help them back on their feet. And the victims are punished doubly with the loss of future income from their abuser. In a somewhat parallel situation. There was a story on the news about healthcare workers, often immigrants, who are financially abused by their employers. There are many home-like care facilities with up to six or so beds which employ these workers. In some cases, they are effectively paid as little $2/hour – less than a third of the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 (California’s minimum wage is $11/hour if the employer has 25 or fewer employees or $12/hour for most others*). A woman who owns many of these facilities was on a TV show bragging about her multimillion dollar lifestyle. She was sued and filed for bankruptcy, but was allowed to keep one of her literal mansions. The business was sold to a company listed under her father’s name, but she is the CEO. Her workers were given nice judgements, but the bankruptcy meant that they were only paid a fraction of what they were owed. She will be reincarnated as a dung beetle. * Limited exceptions to those minimums are tipped wages, some student workers, and other exempt occupations. Some California cities have even higher minimum wages. My own city, for example, has a minimum $15/hour wage.

I hadn’t thought of that – I was thinking some sort of plant or potted arrangement. But on second thought, those would probably be too heavy and unwieldy for Eric to maneuver. I like those wire baskets filled with planted flowers that are suspended from a pole or hung from the eaves – the first time I saw them was in Victoria, BC. I suppose Andy could pick it up from Eric’s cottage when he visits. ;–)

The song is really great. I love it in most of the performances I've heard

Ah, thank you, Reader

I’m probably not listed as a Follower of this story because I’m Following the authors! When an author posts irregularly, that’s the only way to be assured of seeing everything that author has posted! Especially when the author thinks a story is a one-off. ;–)

Iceland reminds me of bits of California (the earthquakes, geyser, hot springs, weird museums, etc), Hawaii (volcanoes, island growing due to volcanic eruptions, tourist, etc), and other places I’ve visited all thrown together and placed in a god-forsaken, frozen climate ‘north of the Wall.’ ;–)

What an odd thing to worry about. You do realize that even when you bring this story to what you believe is a satisfying conclusion, we’ll still want more, don’t you? The story could end with Az collecting the very last soul as the universe dies and we’ll be demanding to know what happened next! ;–)

Oooooooouuuuuu! A quote to piss off half the population! Congratulations? ;–)

A suggestion that you put ‘your baby’ up for adoption would make me laugh! ;–) As Mr Rogers described it, I’m fancy on the outside and your avatar image leads me to believe the same is true for you. This means neither one of us is capable of ‘being with child.’ ;–)

Thanks to the organizers whose hard work make these anthologies possible And naturally, thanks to the authors who contribute

An a cappella performance of Hard Times Come Again No More by George Cooper and Stephen Foster

You’ve just upped the ante for @Aceinthehole! You’ve added orders of complexity to the situation. It will be interesting to see whether your comments have affected the story arc… ;–)

My uncle visited Japan and spoke what he believed to be relatively good Japanese. They thought he was Hawaiian because his word usage was off. It probably sounded archaic because he learned the language from his parents who left Japan somewhere between the 1890s and 1930s. I know he watches Japanese language programs shown on broadcast TV in the Bay Area on weekends, but many of them are historical Samurai-era dramas. ;–) But your friend was wrong because it’s likely that they saw him as a foreigner. His clothing, mannerisms, the way he moves and carries himself says ‘not born here.’ There are many subtle clues that are more apparent in Japan because not only is it a very conformist society, but there is less diversity than in places like the US. I’m guessing that they can tell he’s not a native speaker as soon as he begins to talk too. Jimmy Kimmel has a game he plays on his talk show. His cousin recruits a bunch of pedestrians walking along the Hollywood Blvd sidewalk outside their studio. Without them speaking, and only looking at how they are dressed, he has to guess whether they are American or foreigner while he remains inside the studio. It’s amazing how often he’s correct – in many cases, there are subtle hints in things like hairstyle, clothing, footwear, or posture. ;–)

They do every time someone gets up and stands behind a pulpit and preaches a sermon! ;–)

I am an Agnostic, but I was raised in a very religious home. In my case it was a conservative Protestant church and my father was a minister. I reject organized religion. While there are a few good people who are religious, the majority of them are deeply flawed and hypocritical. Almost none pay attention to the most basic tenets of the religion they claim to believe in. Few understand their holy book even as well as this non-believer. I have faced judgement from worshipers of all sorts of denominations who all ignore ‘judge not lest ye be judged.’ The ones I respect are the ones who quietly help others while not demanding that you suffer while they preach to you. I have felt the condescension of those who feel superior because of the church they attend. I detest the ones who think that speaking in the archaic style of an ancient Gay English King makes them sound more holy. I detest the ones who claim to believe and follow every single word in their holy book, yet obviously ignore the parts that suit them. I have seen ‘believers’ who are openly breaking laws while condemning me for being Gay. Yes, I am angry about religion and people who claim to be religious. Many abuse religion to gain power. Much evil is committed under the guise of religion and faith.

Especially in the past, and in certain cultures, doctors would be dismissive of these sorts of symptoms and would blame the patient. Fortunately, most doctors are more understanding and empathetic. And patients have access to more information about their own health. ;–)

That could be a new Topic in the Lounge. Signature phrases and the authors who write them. Make it a guessing game. Unfortunately, some would see it as making fun of the author rather than teasing the writer. Some would be offended. So I guess I won’t be starting that Topic! ;–)

Much better than the fake stuff some people eat. Things like Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice – what is it converted from? ;–)

That was a very interesting conversation Toby had with his fathers. When he was born, no one expected much from him because he was hearing impaired – he was ‘defective.’ With help, he began to communicate with sign language and lip reading – and eventually even speaking. One of my mother’s cousins was deaf. They didn’t realize what the problem was. They just thought she wasn’t intelligent. She never got an education. I don’t know when they figured out that she had a hearing impairment. Things were very different back in the 1930s and 1940s. I only met her once or twice. She didn’t understand English. Who knows what she could have done if she had been diagnosed when she was young and had gotten an education…